


Shelter

by ladyc2



Category: KAT-TUN (Band), Yamapi - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Various other J&A artists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-09
Updated: 2014-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-03 23:24:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1759567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyc2/pseuds/ladyc2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trying to track down an old friend Yamapi finds help in the reluctant form of Kamenashi Kazuya.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This multichapter will probably be fairly slow to update.

"Excuse me Sir, but we're closing up now." 

The man grunted and Kame figured that was about as much acknowledgement as he was going to get. He returned to cleaning up a nearby table, pausing only to say goodbye to the two waitresses that had been on shift with him. That left just him and the last customer who still hadn't moved from his table. 

There had been no indication when he'd entered the cafe earlier that night that he'd be a problem customer - except for maybe distracting the staff with his looks (not that Kame could blame them, he'd been rather enjoying the view himself). He had seemed a little down but had been polite when ordering and hadn't caused any other trouble. Kame fixed his face into one that was both polite yet stern; he'd worked hard to finally be given the responsibility of closing up and he wasn't going to let some trumped up businessman ruin his efforts; before he approached the man again.

"Excuse me again, but we really do have to be closing now. It's time for you to go home."

"Don't have a home," the man replied forlornly.

Kame blinked in surprise at the man's answer. He certainly didn't look homeless. In fact judging from the tailored suit and the immaculately shined shoes, Kame would have guessed he was too wealthy for this area. _Probably had a fight with his girlfriend and been kicked out_ , Kame surmised.

"Don't you have a friend you could stay with?" Kame suggested. 

"He's not home."

"He might be by now." It was very late after all. 

The man shook his head, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and slapping it down on the table. 

"There's nothing at this address. Nothing at all."

Kame tilted his head to read, recognising it almost immediately. "That building got knocked down years ago," he supplied.

The man in front of him sighed.

"If I go to my other friends they'll just track me down. I knew it was a long shot but I figured Toma might let me stay. They wouldn't think to look for me with him. But I haven't been in contact for years so I guess it's not surprising that he's moved."

_They?_ That didn't sound good. Kame was wondering just what kind of trouble this man was in that he didn't register the rest of his words straight away. When they did, Kame's throat went dry and a sliver of fear began to curl in his belly. That name, with that address. 

"You don't mean Ikuta Toma, do you?" Kame slapped a hand over his mouth but it was too late. _Damn it! Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?_ With a great amount of willpower he forced his hand back down to his side, though he couldn't stop it or his other hand from clenching up, his nails digging into his palms. 

The man slowly looked up and his gaze bored into Kame's. "You know him?"

Kame cleared his throat. "Sort of," he replied warily. 

"Can you take me to him?"

Kame shook his head vehemently. "No."

"Why not?" He didn't seem to note Kame's apprehension.

Kame chose his words carefully, not quite trusting himself to blurt out more unnecessary information. 

"I'm not really sure exactly where he's living myself these days." It was a lie, mostly - after all, there was a small chance Toma could've moved since the last time Kame had spoken to him - and Kame wasn't sure why telling it was making him feel so uncomfortable. Probably the pitiful look on man's face. He was way too pretty to look that sad. 

"I know a few places where he used to hang out; I could give you those addresses," Kame relented a little, "but I think you'd be better off waiting until morning."

The man looked at him, confused.

"You'll get mugged if you try walking around here at this time of night," Kame explained. The man's forehead crinkled in consternation, like the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. _Yup, he was definitely out of his element._ The thought surprisingly eased Kame's tension somewhat. 

"Okay then, tomorrow." he finally sighed. "I don't suppose there's a cheap hotel nearby?"

Kame snorted, "Not one that's fit for human habitation."

"Oh." 

"You really don't have anywhere else you can go?"

This was stupid. Kame knew it was stupid. Helping this guy out any more than he'd already offered to was just a bad move no matter which angle he looked at it from. And that wasn't even taking into account this mysterious 'they' he seemed to be hiding from. Still, he found the words spilling from his mouth anyway, 

"I suppose you can stay at my place tonight."

The man looked surprised. "Really?" he asked sounding stunned that Kame had even offered - about as stunned as Kame felt for actually offering. "I mean - Thank you. I'd appreciate that."

Kame turned away. "Just stay here while I finish closing up," he said gruffly.

"Wait!" the man called out and when Kame turned his head to look back, he bowed. "Yamashita Tomohisa."

Kame ducked his head in acknowledgement of the introduction. "Kamenashi Kazuya," he replied.


	2. Chapter 1

The aroma of bacon brought Yamapi out of his slumber. He sat up, a little disorientated at first due to the strange surroundings. He rubbed at his sleep laden eyes and tried to remember the night before. It slowly came back to him - his flight, trying to track down Toma, Kamenashi offering him a place to stay. He pushed the blankets off, surprised that he'd managed to sleep so well despite his situation. Kamenashi's apartment was a tiny one-bedroomer and they'd had to push his couch and coffee table right against the far wall to make room for his bedding. He rose and plopped himself almost immediately straight back down on a stool at the kitchen bench 

"Morning," Kamenashi murmured, more intent on what he was cooking than on Yamapi. "Breakfast will be ready soon."

Yamapi nodded his acknowledgement as he watched Kamenashi poaching eggs. His eye's slid over to his belongings; more precisely to his phone nestled amongst them where he'd left it last night. He reached over to it quickly and turned it on. As expected, as soon as it came to life, the device immediately started to alert him of missed calls. He looked cautiously at the list. Most of the calls were from Ryo and Jin. His thumb hovered between both names, undecided for a moment on who he should call - Jin was the less likely of the two to yell at him, but he also wasn't very good at keeping secrets. He made his decision and pushed the call button.

Ryo picked up almost before the first ring had finished.

"Pi! Where the hell are you?"

"Hey," Yamapi answered.

"Are you crazy? Everyone's looking for you. What the hell...!"

Pi put the phone down on the bench and looked back to Kamenashi, who was now plating up the breakfast. It looked delicious; strips of bacon and spinach on top of a muffin, with a poached egg on top, drizzled in oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. _Eggs Benedict?_ Not exactly what Yamapi had been expecting (this wasn't some fancy hotel). Not that he was going to complain; his mouth was watering just looking at it.

Kamenashi glanced between Yamapi and the phone, where Ryo's voice could faintly be heard yelling as he placed a plate before him. 

"He'll be a while," Yamapi mouthed in explanation.

Kamenashi seemed amused at the explanation, coming around the bench to sit beside him with his own plate. Yamapi took his first mouthful and had to bite back an appreciative moan. _So good!_ He gave Kamenashi a thumbs up sign and the other stifled a chuckle at his antics.

He was about halfway through breakfast when the phone went silent. Pi picked it up hastily.

"Did you listen to any of that?" Ryo did not sound amused.

"Every word," Yamapi lied.

Ryo thankfully let it go. 

"Your mom's on a rampage," he said instead and Yamapi sighed.

"I figured."

"Where are you?" Ryo asked much softer this time. He would never admit it out loud, would probably even deny it if confronted, but his friend was obviously worried.

"I thought I'd hide out with Toma." There was a clatter next to him and he looked over at Kamenashi who hastily picked up his dropped cutlery. 

"You're with Toma?" Ryo asked, drawing his attention back to the conversation.

Yamapi hummed non-committedly. Telling Ryo that he hadn't actually found Toma yet and was sitting in a complete strangers apartment, struck him as not being the best idea. Besides, with Kamenashi's help, he was sure it would be true soon enough. 

"Alright, I suppose that's as good a hiding place as any for now. Keep in touch, okay." 

Yamapi smiled at the way the last words sounded more like an order.

"Will...?" Yamapi trailed off. He couldn't, he shouldn't, expect his friends to fix this for him; if it even could be fixed. 

"We're working on it." Ryo answered as if he'd understood anyway, though he didn't sound too confident.

"Thanks," Pi whispered before ending the call and turning it back off again.

He stared at the blank screen for a few moments, composing himself before he faced Kamenashi again. He half expected curiosity and maybe a question, but Kamenashi's eyes remained fixed on his plate, giving him his privacy. Yamapi was grateful.

After breakfast he offered to help clean up, it was only fair after all, and Kamenashi threw him the dishcloth. 

They washed and dried in silence for a while until Yamapi's own curiosity got the better of him.

"So do you always cook such elaborate breakfasts for your guests, or am I just special?"

"You're just lucky." Kame grinned as he dried a plate. "I was practicing."

"Practicing?"

Kamenashi nodded. "There's this cooking school I was thinking of applying to."

"You want to be a chef?"

Kamenashi shrugged. "Maybe. I like cooking and I'd just..." Kamenashi paused, looking around at his apartment, "It'd be nice to be something more. I guess." He laughed a little, like he was embarrassed by his confession. Yamapi thought it made him look cute.

"Well if the rest of your cooking is as good as your breakfast, I'd come to your future restaurant all the time."

"Thanks," Kamenashi grinned happily at the compliment for a moment before his expression turned rueful, "but I wouldn't go making reservations just yet. Chances are, with my background, they probably won't even let me through the door."

"Your background?"

Kamenashi turned away, bending over to put a pan away in the cupboard and hiding his face from Yamapi's view before he answered. "The usual stuff; never finished school, ran with the wrong crowd, that sort of thing."

Yamapi was surprised. "What does that matter?" he asked indignantly as Kamenashi stood to face him once again. "If you're not like that now, surely they'll see that you're trying to turn your life around." Yamapi stopped when he saw the look of disbelief on Kamenashi's face at his words. "I'm being naive, aren't I?" he asked rather sheepishly. 

Kamenashi held up his hand with his thumb and finger millimetres apart. "Just a little," he agreed.

Yamapi sighed. _Too naive, too trusting._ Hadn't he been told over and over again they were his biggest faults? He could practically hear the lecture in his mind all over again. And of course they'd been right, which was exactly why he was where he was now. Yet it seemed he hadn't learnt at all.

"Sorry," he apologised.

"Don't worry about it." Kamenashi dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Actually, it's kind of nice to know there are people who don't put a lot of stock in that sort of thing. Makes me think maybe I can change things after all."

"I'm sure you can," Yamapi replied confidently as he passed over the last plate for drying. The corner of Kamenashi's lips curled upwards slightly as he took the plate. 

Once the dishes were done, Kamenashi had to leave to run some errands. Yamapi tidied up his bedding and moved the coffee table and couch back into their regular positions. If he found Toma and somehow managed to sort his life out, he'd have to come back and thank Kamenashi properly. Buy something nice for him, maybe. It didn't look like Kame had a lot in the way of possessions; a small shelf holding a few tatty old mangas and a signed baseball. Unless he was hiding everything in his bedroom, it didn't amount to much.

Kamenashi didn't return until lunch time. Yamapi had grabbed one of the mangas off the shelf and he put it down as the other man entered the apartment. Yamapi hoped he wouldn't mind him reading his books but Kamenashi barely seemed to notice; in fact he looked kind of frazzled, like whatever errands he'd been running had been stressful and upsetting. 

Kamenashi had moved straight to the kitchen and begun cooking up some ramen. Yamapi joined him, a part of him wanting to ask what was wrong, but he held off. It wasn't really any of his business and maybe talking about it would just bother the man more. When it was done, they ate in silence with Yamapi trying to rack his brains for something to say, but coming up empty. 

The awkward (to Yamapi anyway) silence continued as they cleaned up the lunch plates. It only broke when Kamenashi pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and pushed it across the table towards him. Yamapi picked it up. It was a name, 'The Portal' with an address written underneath.

"It's a club," Kamenashi explained. "It's your best bet for finding... your friend. They don't go there every night, but it's a regular haunt."

Yamapi pocketed the paper. "Thanks."

Kamenashi took a deep breath and his eyes refused to meet Yamapi's. "Listen," he started, "If you do manage to find him, it's probably not a good idea to mention that I helped you out."

"Why not?"

"Toma and his friends...." Kame hesitated and his tongue poked out to lick at his bottom lip nervously. "They don't really like me much anymore."

\--

Kamenashi had practically run out of the apartment after his revelation, claiming he had to go to work. Yamapi sighed and picked up the manga again - it helped pass the time until the club would be open and worked moderately well to distract him from pointless speculation about Kamenashi when he really had nothing to go on. _Why had he agreed to help if he was on bad terms with Toma? What had caused him to be so upset earlier? Was it because of him?_ He sighed again and stared blankly at the page in front of him. _Okay, so maybe it wasn't much of a distraction after all._

\--

'The Portal' turned out to be a rather grimy, dirty looking place from the outside, nothing at all like the clubs Yamapi usually attended. It improved a little once Yamapi was inside, although it was a little hard to tell - the two big burly bouncers at the door didn't seem to stop anybody coming through and, as Yamapi watched one girl go past in what appeared to be nothing more than her lingerie, it looked like they didn't have much of a dress standard either.

Yamapi frowned as he pushed his way through the crowd. _How was he supposed to find anyone in this?_ He slowly managed to make his way to the bar, ignoring all the offers to dance or hands that kept trying to grope him. He signalled to the nearest bartender. As he came close, Yamapi leaned over the bar so he could be heard better over the noise. 

"I'm looking for Ikuta Toma-san." 

The bartender shrugged. "Never heard of him," he answered as he reached under the bar, coming up with some fresh glasses.

"Are you sure?" Yamapi asked. "I heard he's a regular here."

"And who told you that?"

Yamapi considered what to say. Kamenashi hadn't wanted his help to be revealed, so he probably shouldn't give him away, but there was no other way to explain. He was still deciding when he was jostled by a particularly large body next to him. He turned his head to notice one of the clubs bouncers had moved in beside him. 

"What's the trouble?" the bouncer asked the same bartender that Yamapi had been talking too.

The bartender flicked his gaze in Yamapi's direction. "He's been asking after Ikuta-san."

Yamapi was surprised. He thought the bartender didn't know him. He turned towards the bouncer gratefully.

"You can help me?" he asked hopefully. The bouncer grabbed his arm roughly in response and began to drag him through the club. Yamapi quickened his step to keep up. The grip on his arm was tight and had begun to hurt after a few steps but he doubted that the bouncer would hear him over the music and crowd if he tried to complain. 

The bouncer stopped in front of door at the back of the club. Yamapi wondered if it was some sort of private room. He grabbed for the handle eagerly and tugged it open. He could only guess as to the look on his face when he stepped through and found himself looking at what appeared to be an alley. He was about to turn back when he was pushed (or judging from the pain radiating from his back, maybe kicked) violently to the ground. He groaned as he hit the pavement hard. He rolled as quickly as he could onto his back to find the Bouncer hovering over him. 

"Don't show your face here again," the Bouncer threatened ominously as he aimed a kick at Yamapi's ribs. Yamapi tried to shift out of the way but he was a fraction too slow and pain exploded in his side.

The Bouncer laughed before he walked back inside slamming the door behind him.

Yamapi lay still trying to will the pain to a more manageable level. Taking shallow breaths seemed to help a little so Yamapi concentrated on that for a while. He hoped his ribs weren't broken; the guy must have been wearing steel cap boots or something. Eventually he managed to sit up, and he glared at the door, one thought going around and around in his head. 

"What the hell?!" he yelled into the silent, empty alleyway.


	3. Chapter 2

Kame tried to project an air of confidence in steps, as if he had every right to be wandering around where he was. Technically he did - he was about a block out from territory he shouldn't be in. Somehow though he didn't think that technicality would save him if he ran into the wrong people. _And what exactly was he doing this for? A guy he barely knew. What was it about Yamashita that was making him stick his neck out like this?_ Initially he'd felt sorry for the guy, he'd seemed so down in the dumps and he'd spoken without thinking. 

Kame had been surprised when he'd returned home from work to see Yamashita waiting at his door. Not because he'd necessarily been expecting him to be successful on his first attempt at finding Toma, but because it was still quite early in the night. Once Yamashita had told him what happened, Kame should have washed his hands of the man at that point, really; if Yamashita was going to blunder his way around that badly then Kame may as well march him to Toma's front door personally. Yet he hadn't. Kame thought back to the way Yamashita had praised his cooking and got indignant at the thought Kame might not be able pursue his dream due to his background. He could feel the start of a smile start to creep up on his face and heat rising in his cheeks. And there was his answer; he was a total sucker for sweet guys. No matter what sort of trouble it all ended in (and it always seemed to end badly for Kame in one way or another), he couldn't help himself. _Or maybe he just had a death wish._

Regardless of the why’s, here he was at the corner where Tamamori generally sold his wares. Kame wasn't surprised to see the corner was empty; it was a little early in the morning for the goods Tamamori was selling. He leaned back against the wall just at the entrance of a small filthy alleyway and tried to get comfortable for the wait.

It was probably an hour or so later (and a few reprimands to some overly interested passers-by) when Tamamori finally came into view. He hesitated a little when he caught sight of Kame in his usual spot before he jogged over.

"Kame, what are you doing here?" He asked “You're not here to steal my customers are you?" His tone was joking but Kame could hear the concern underneath.

He elbowed Tamamori in the ribs. "Trust me, they're all yours."

"Glad to hear it," Tamamori replied. "So what's up?"

Kame shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced away - he didn't like imposing his problems on other people, but it was the only other plan he could think of. 

"I need to ask you favour," he answered.

\--

Kame opened the door to his apartment, ushering Tamamori through the door. Yamashita looked up from his position reclining on the couch where it looked like he'd been engrossed in one of Kame's old mangas. 

"Tama-chan, this is," Kame began.

"Yamapi!" Tamamori yelled in surprise cutting off Kame's introduction.

Kame looked between the two of them in astonishment. _They knew each other?_

"It is you right?" Tamamori questioned, furthering Kame's confusion. "Yamashita Tomohisa?"

Yamashita nodded slowly, he looked flustered as well.

"How do you...?" he asked, mirroring Kame's confusion.

"Are you kidding?" Tamamori answered excitedly. "I read the business section of the papers - and the social scene, all the time. You're like, my role model."

Yamashita laughed nervously.

"Thanks," he replied.

Kame was lost.

"Business?" he questioned.

Tamamori turned to him with a smile, "Yamashita Tomohisa, 29, nicknamed Yamapi, heir to the Yamashita Corporation, one of the top five business empires in the country. Not to mention the most eligible bachelor in the country."

Yamashita waved his hands in protest, "I don't think that last one's true anymore."

Tamamori shrugged, "Well the tabloids are still unsure about it but really, you're hot, rich and still single - what's there to argue about."

_Business Empires? Tabloids? Arguing?_ Kame still had no idea what was going on. "I'm not following." 

"Yamapi," he looked over at Yamashita, "You don't mind if I call you that do you?" He turned back before Yamashita could respond. "Totally came out at this major league business meeting in front of _everybody_. Then his mother stood up and said she fully supported him and if anyone had a problem with it they could just fuck off and not do business with them anymore. Of course, nobody had the guts to do that; Yamashita Corporation is way too powerful for that." Tamamori sighed. "So cool! I wish I'd been there instead of just reading about it."

"Believe me it wasn't that easy from the inside," Yamashita mumbled. 

"Anyway," Tamamori continued on, "now the gossip rags seem to waver between calling him the 'most eligible bachelor' versus the 'most eligible gay bachelor'. It's just a lot of silly semantics if you ask me."

"I see," Kame answered, the new information about his houseguest settling in. He met the other man's eyes. "Rich and powerful, huh?"

Yamashita dropped his gaze to the floor. "Not at the moment," he replied. 

Kame felt his curiosity grow. _Just what sort of trouble was he in?_ Tamamori clapped his hands in anticipation, breaking Kame out of his thoughts. "So, what can I help you with?"

Now it was Kame's turn to look uneasy. 

"Yamashita-san is looking for Toma," His eyes met Tamamori’s in a plea. "I was hoping you could help arrange it."

At the word Toma, Tamamori's eyes widened but he listened quietly as Kame outlined his plan. It was simple enough. Yamashita would have a few drinks at bar Tamamori was known for frequenting. Tamamori would show up and strike up a conversation where Yamashita would mention he was looking for Toma. Then Tamamori would contact Toma and they could renew their friendship.

From his place by the couch, Yamashita looked doubtful. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Seems simple enough - why wouldn't it?" Tamamori asked. 

"Won't they think it's strange that I just told all that to a perfect stranger?" 

Tamamori laughed, "Didn't you do that with Kame?"

"Well, I guess, but..."

"Don't worry," Tamamori assured, patting Yamashita on the shoulder, "people tell me all sorts of stuff all the time. No one will think it's weird. You could say it's just another part of my job."

Kame could practically see the cogs whirring in Yamashita's brain, so wasn't the least surprised when he asked,

"What do you do?"

Tamamori shared an amused grin with Kame before answering. "I'm a prostitute."

"Oh!" 

The look on Yamashita's face was enough to make both Kame and Tamamori laugh.

\--

Several hours later, Yamapi followed Tamamori back out onto the streets. Despite he and Kamenashi's assertions that the plan was simple, there was apparently a lot of areas where it could lead to disaster and they'd gone through each one of them exhaustively. Most of it had gone over Yamapi's head, but it hadn't really seemed like a good time to ask. Now though, with nothing more to plan and who knew how long a walk to the bar, it might be his only opportunity. 

"Thanks for this," Yamapi started.

Tamamori grinned. "No problem." 

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Tamamori agreed. 

"All this effort. I mean I understand we're trying to keep Kamenashi out of things, but you all make it sound like Toma's a horrible, scary person." That just didn't jive with the friend Yamapi remembered goofing off with in middle school. "I don't get it," he admitted reluctantly.

Tamamori laughed easily. "Kame's a great guy but he can be really bad with the explanations sometimes. Like you should just know how everything works already."

"Yeah, I got that." Yamapi thought back to the night before when Kamenashi had looked at him like he was the stupidest person on the planet after he'd explained about getting kicked out of the club.

"It's not really Toma that's the issue,” Tamamori reassured, “it's more the people he hangs around with."

"He hangs around with bad people?" 

"They're not bad exactly. You have to understand - this whole area is controlled by gangs. Life can be tough, or maybe I should say even tougher, if you don't buy into that."

Yamapi was surprised. "Yakuza?"

Tamamori shook his head, "More like a step down from that level."

Yamapi nodded to show he understood, but inside his mind was whirling. When Toma had moved away in their last year of middle school he hadn't really questioned why. He'd been sad his friend was leaving of course, but he'd been too young to really understand how the business world worked. Once he entered high school, he'd figured out that Toma's parents must have lost all their money in a bad business deal, but again he hadn't really had a strong concept of what it was like to be poor; Toma's letters had always been upbeat and never hinted at any struggles with gangs or other such unsavouriness. Maybe he should have looked into it more; questioned more rather than taking his friend at his word. At the very least tried better to stay in touch when periods between contact started to lengthen until it had stopped all together. He sighed; maybe he should add 'bad friend' to his list of faults.

Tamamori was talking again, giving the explanation that Kamenashi hadn't. 

"The area we're in now is run by a group called Tokio. They're pretty low key these days but they're well respected so no-one will move in on their territory. It's as close to neutral ground as you get around these parts. Where we're going is Arashi's territory." 

"And that's who Toma's with?"

"Yeah." Tamamori nodded. He paused, unsure before adding, "Kame used to be with them as well."

"What happened?"

"I don't really know," Tamamori admitted reluctantly. "I try to stay out of those sorts of things, you understand, but from what I heard he really pissed them off. I think he's lucky they didn't kill him."

That explained why Kamenashi didn't want his involvement known. _But then why would he help in the first place? And why was Tamamori helping?_ At least maybe he could get an answer to that last question right now.

"If you don't like to get involved in these things, why are you helping?"

Thankfully Tamamori didn't seem to mind.

"I owe Kame one," he admitted easily. "He helped me out once, after a trick went bad. I don't know what would've happened if he hadn't been there."

Yamapi suddenly felt bad for asking. "I'm sorry," he expressed sincerely. 

Tamamori shrugged it off. "A risk of the job, I guess."

Yamapi didn't know what to say to that, so he kept silent. After a moment Tamamori added,

"I thought I was never going to get the chance to repay him; he doesn't tend to like asking for help." A sly grin crossed his features, "He must really like you."

Yamapi didn't know what to say to that either. 

\--

The plan went off pretty easily in the end. Yamapi didn't really have to try to look down, he spent much of the time pondering over a mixture of what got him here in the first place and the things Tamamori had told him. He thought pretending he didn't know Tamamori would be harder but when the younger man approached him he was like a whole different person. Flirty with a hint of seduction underlying all his conversation. He was also adept at steering the conversation in the right direction without it looking forced. Yamapi dutifully recited his tale of looking for an old friend named Ikuta Toma as if he was telling it for the first time.

"I'll be right back; I need to use the bathroom." Tamamori tilted his head cutely. 

"I'll order you another drink," Yamapi offered, signalling the bartender.

The bartender looked at him amused as he poured the drinks. It took Yamapi a few moments to realise why; he must have thought Tamamori was inviting him to follow him into the bathroom. Of course Tamamori had actually left to contact Toma, or at least a friend who could apparently get the message to Toma safely - Yamapi had kind of drifted out during that part of the plan discussion. He kept his eyes on his drink and hoped that the blush he knew he must be sporting helped lend credence to the ploy.

It was about two hours later when a very familiar face finally walked through the door. He heard his name called out in excitement before he was enveloped in a bear hug.

"Toma." He smiled, relieved at finally finding his friend.


End file.
